


I Close My Eyes and See How My Dreams Will Come True

by kkslover9



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Open Relationships, Polyamory, Tacos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 13:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10765266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kkslover9/pseuds/kkslover9
Summary: Husbands Iker and Sergio start dating the same person, Cristiano, without knowing it.





	I Close My Eyes and See How My Dreams Will Come True

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Thank you to the lovely Kaixo for an absolutely banging beta job.

The new PhD student in the lab comes in for the first time on Monday and is tall and good looking. He definitely works out and seems like he should be in one of Sergio’s photoshoots rather than in a chemistry laboratory wearing an open white lab coat and goggles on his forehead. But he’s definitely there. He shakes Iker’s hand with gusto and a wide grin. Iker takes in the guy’s look: tight shirt and tight jeans showing off a fit body. His smile is what really gets Iker. There’s nothing guarded or defensive about it, just genuine pleasure to meet Iker. The “open” part of Sergio and his marriage is new but Iker suddenly thinks he’s definitely not mind starting it off with this guy. He shakes his head at the thought and the guy, Cristiano is his name Iker remembers, looks at him strangely, brown eyes narrowing slightly. 

“Are you ok?” 

Iker nods in reply. “Was just thinking about my experiment.”

“What are you working on?” Cristiano says.

That’s much easier to think about than how he handsome he thinks the new guy is so Iker delves into the specifics and watches the way Cristiano nods enthusiastically. 

There’s a welcome party for Cristiano in the evening. It’s more of a pub night than an actual party. Iker doesn’t usually go out with the other researchers but he does this time, drawn to Cristiano. Maybe because they’re both foreign and from the Iberian peninsula, more likely because Iker is attracted to him. 

Iker notices that Cristiano, Cris he said to call him, is drinking a coke instead of beer. “You don’t drink?” he says taking a sip of his own beer.

Cris grins. “No.” 

He doesn’t offer an explanation even though Iker waits for one, but Iker doesn’t push. It’s probably something a lot more personal than just disliking the taste and if he doesn’t want to share, that’s all right.

“So where’re ya from again?” one of the other researchers asks  
.  
Cris turns to look at the speaker but Iker’s attention stays focused on him.

“Madeira, in Portugal,” Cristiano says, “It’s a beautiful island. You should visit. I could show you around.”

Iker sips his beer as the conversation turns to questions about Cristiano’s life and why he moved to London to study and, in the end, he drinks a lot more than he should for it being a Wednesday. He listens to the conversations but doesn’t offer too much himself. He spends what seems to his mind to be an abnormal amount of time staring at Cris, who catches him a few times but just smiles at him quietly. Iker wants to talk to him but the others dominate the conversation with questions. Instead he takes in muscular arms and thighs and crisply gelled hair that he thinks is endearing instead of silly as he usually would, probably because it’s clear that Cris cares about his appearance so much.

Iker tunes back into the conversation when he hears someone ask about whether Cris has a girlfriend. 

Cris laughs at the question and he most definitely glances in Iker’s direction and meets his eyes for a second. “No.”

The guys are all in an uproar at that answer. How could someone so good-looking be single? Cris shrugs off all their invasive questions about his sex life with vague answers about how he’s settled down for his PhD and doesn’t really notice women anymore. The conversation then devolves into woman and sex talk that Iker has absolutely no interest in.

Cris goes to the toilet soon after the shift. No one seems quite as interested in his anymore. He returns and sits next to Iker who has spent the last minutes shaking his head at his co-workers. 

“I think they found something more interesting than the new guy,” Cris says.

Iker laughs. “Don’t worry. I’m still interested in you.” He doesn’t mean to flirt exactly. He’s pretty sure his tone is light and joking.

Cris grins, eyes crinkling up at the sides prettily. “You’re the only one that matters anyway.”

It sounds like flirting but Iker can’t be sure, even though Cris’ voice has a serious undertone to it. And the following conversation doesn’t help. It’s just small talk, when it Iker move to London and how he likes it and whether he misses home. But it takes Iker from his second to his fourth pint. 

“You live close to Iker, yeah?” someone says when they finally exit the pub when it closes.

“I live in Chelsea,” Cris says, “Do you live close, Iker?”

The Portuguese accent is thick in Iker’s ears. He nods because he lives in Chelsea too. Sergio wanted to live in a more upscale neighbourhood when he finally started getting regular jobs. Sometimes Iker’s not sure why he agreed to it when they could have a more comfortable flat somewhere else but he’s never been good at denying his husband.

They agree to share a cab because that would be a bit cheaper for them both and Cristiano is a student and probably doesn’t have much money to spare. That’s at least half of it. The other half being decidedly related to how attractive Iker thinks Cris is and it’s only heightened by the alcohol.

“Are you all right?” Cris peers into Iker’s face.

Iker nods. He’s feeling a lot better than he thought he would be after all the drinking.

The taxi arrives and they get in. Iker sits perhaps unnaturally close to him but Cris doesn’t move away. He just grins and pats Iker on his forearm. They tell the taxi their addresses. Iker is staring openly at Cris now and Cris stares back with a smile. Iker really wants to kiss him. He’s nervous about that feeling and the possibility of acting because Cris has shown signs hasn’t he? Smiling at him and possibly flirting with him and possibly it’s just the alcohol talking. But he can’t be imagining this tension as they stare at each other in the back of a taxi, he decides. SO he takes the plunge and leans in and when Cris doesn’t move away, kisses him. Cris is pliant under him. He lets Iker kiss him and lean him back. But then Cris’ hand come over to Iker’s and he’s running his hand along Iker’s wedding ring. Iker pulls away. They are both breathing heavier now and staring at each other quietly. It seems the taxi driver has seen enough of this type of thing because the taxi doesn’t even jerk.

“It’s—we—the marriage is open,” Iker says stumbling over his words.

Cris nods slowly, looks like he’s considering something. He’s taking too long so Iker grasps his arm asking for permission again. Cris smiles and without saying anything kisses Iker. It’s just a peck though and Iker is left surprised when he pulls away as soon as he had lean in.

“You’re drunk,” Cris says.

Iker frowns and Cris laughs at him.

“And I’m not,” he continues, “I don’t like my sex sloppy.”

At least Cris was on the same wavelength as him, Iker thinks, even though he’s choosing to be an upstanding citizen about it.

“Next time,” Cris says, patting Iker’s shoulder before kissing his cheek lightly.

The rest of a journey to Cristiano’s apartment is in silence with Iker feeling like an ass and Cristiano looking amused by the situation. The taxi stops at a place that looks way too posh to be a student’s apartment but before Iker can comment, Cristiano shuts him up with a quick but surprisingly deep kiss, squeezing his thigh a bit too high up at the same time. 

“Teasing bastard,” Iker mutters.

Cristiano bursts into laughter at that. “Have a good night, Iker,” he says in a voice that makes Iker’s head spin.

Iker catches Cristiano’s hand as he leaves the taxi in some last ditch attempt but only receives a smile in return before Cris slips out of his grasp and closes the door behind him. Iker turns and looks out of the rear glass as the taxi drives off just to see Cris give him a little wave before they turn the corner.

 

The next day Iker is still feeling a bit embarrassed from his interaction with Cris in the taxi. It’s probably ridiculous to think about it so damn much but getting turned down because he was too drunk is bothering him. It also makes Cris even more interesting for his chivalry but that’s not what has him blushing when he sees Cris walk up to him in the lab near lunch time.  
“Would you want to have lunch together?” he asks grinning widely.

Iker takes a deep breath to steady himself because he can feel that he’s suddenly become a bit unstable then turns from inputting the morning’s data into his computer to the new arrival. “Sure I’m at a stopping point anyway.”

They head out of the building and down to one of the university cafes where they sell sandwiches and salads. There’s no hot food but it’s close to their building so Iker usually comes here. He grabs his usual chicken and chorizo and waits for Cris to peruse and decide before they pay for their meals. Iker gets a black coffee and Cris a black tea. 

“No milk?” Iker says as they take some seats, “that’s not very British of you.”

Cris laughs and shrugs. “Well coffee isn’t very British either.”

Iker grins at him.

Lunch is comfortable. There’s no awkwardness on Cris’ side so Iker refuses for there to be any on his either. They talk about how Cris is enjoying London or not enjoying London by way of the weather. Cris goes quiet for a minute at the end of the meal, like he’s thinking about something. Iker chooses not to ask what’s on his mind and just finishes his sandwich in the unintelligible chatter of the people around them.

“Are you free tonight?” Cris asks looking slightly nervous which is different from what Iker has seen from him so far.

Iker feels a bit less embarrassed about his nervousness earlier.

“What day is it?” Iker thinks it’s Tuesday but his internal calendar has been known to be a bit awful at times.

“Tuesday,” Cris says laughing a little.

“It’s Taco Tuesday,” Iker realizes out loud.

Cris looks confused. “Taco Tuesday?”

“Uh, we, my uh husband and I, we try to eat tacos together every Tuesday.” Iker feels incredibly awkward talking about Sergio to a man who is asking him out but Cris just smiles.

“That’s really cute. It rhymes and everything.”

The mention of rhyming makes Iker laugh. “Not actually but I know what you mean.”

The air becomes relaxed again after that.

“I’m free tomorrow night,” Iker says, feeling his heart speed up a bit.

Cristiano smiles, that genuine bright smile that makes Iker want to kiss him. “Tomorrow is great.”

Iker goes through the rest of the day feeling a bit fluffy on the inside. He should probably feel this way about Taco Tuesday and not a date with a new young student in his lab, but unfortunately that’s not how his mind is working at the moment. He likes Taco Tuesdays. It forces him to leave the lab at a reasonable time instead of the middle of the night and it’s bonding time with Sergio who he loves. It’s just the comfortableness of marriage versus the feeling before the first date that are two competing feelings that make him insecure in himself.

Taco Tuesday turns out delicious as usual. They cook up some meat and refried beans and lay out the ingredients and pig out on tacos for an evening.

“Would you believe that it took like an extra two hours to set up today?” Sergio says in-between eating. “I was so angry. One of the set designers thought we were starting at 11 not 9. I have no idea where she got an idea like that. And apparently she was the one with all the plans but she doesn’t have 4G right now so she couldn’t email it over and she lives in fucking Kent somewhere because it’s better for her kids or some shit so it took her two hours to get in anyway when we called her at 9:30.”

Iker smiles at Sergio’s rant. The lab is not nearly as interesting as being a fashion photographer.

“Iker, I almost died from a burst blood vessel and you’re smiling.”

“I was just thinking how you always have exciting stories to tell from work while all I can talk about are the reactions that happen in my beakers,” Iker says.

“If only I could have reactions in beakers instead of set designers that can’t fucking tell time,” Sergio says sounding as wistful as he can.”

Iker laughs. “I don’t want to be near any reaction that you make happen in a beaker.”

Sergio tries to feign sadness at Iker’s jab but fails and bursts into laughter. “Me neither, Iker. Me neither.”

Throughout the entire dinner, Cris is running through his head and Iker wonders how to bring up the fact that he has a date the next day. It’s nerve wracking and his attention strays quite a few times. Sergio notices naturally but Iker plays it off as a problem with his experiment which is a complete lie and then adds to his feelings of insecurity. What a ridiculous situation, he thinks. There should be no problem. They made this decision to open their marriage after a lot of thinking and discussing about what it would bring and take away from their relationship. So really he should be able to just come out and tell Sergio but nothing is ever as simple as it should be.

They’re in bed when Iker finally manages to tell him. The simple words, “I have a date tomorrow,” escape his mouth and sit in the silent darkness for a few nerve-wracking moments before Sergio replies.

“Good. You’ll have to tell me all about it.”

Then there’s silence again and Iker is nervous that Sergio didn’t sound too excited even though he tried to.

“It’s all right, isn’t it?”

Sergio laughs at that. “Sorry I was just surprised that you would be the first one to come home saying that when you were the one who was reluctant about the whole thing. But yes. Of course it’s all right. I try not to be a hypocrite when I can help it.”

The last sentence is in such an obviously humorous tone that Iker has to laugh and kiss his husband. 

“I love you,” he says quietly.

Sergio kisses him back. “I love you too, Iker.”

 

Sergio looks nervous as he stands at the foot of the bed half way through dressing for bed. Iker is already changed and pushes back the duvet to get under it but he stops when he sees Sergio’s expression. He hasn’t seen an expression like that ever. It’s new and that terrifies him. He takes a deep breath.

“Sergio?”

Sergio wrings his hands in front of himself. “Iker I was thinking . . .” He starts but trails off.

Iker wants to scream “what” out of fear but stops himself. What if Sergio wanted a divorce? How was he going to deal with something like that? There’s a long silence before Sergio speaks again.

“I was thinking,” he says, “how would you feel about an open marriage?”

“Absolutely not,” Iker says quickly and loudly. He sees Sergio flinch at his declaration. “What am I not enough for you anymore?”

“Iker, it’s not about that.”

“Then what is it about, Sergio? What is it fucking about?” Iker is breathing hard and shaking. He knows he should probably be calmer but he’s scared. This sounds like the beginning of an end of a relationship and he doesn’t want to give up the love of his life. 

“Forget it,” Sergio says quietly. 

“No, tell me what you want, Sergio. Am I not good enough? What else am I supposed to think when you come into our bedroom asking to fuck other people?”

“I said forget it, Iker!”

Shouting is new just like the look of nervousness of Sergio’s face, just like the look of hurt on his face and he hurriedly grabs some pillows from his side of the bed. 

“I’ll sleep on the sofa,” he says and leaves the room.

Iker can’t bring himself to follow, can’t bring himself to apologise for shouting because what else was his reaction supposed to be to a question like that. He climbs into bed still breathing heavily.

 

The idea of the date freaks Iker out from the morning when he leaves the flat throughout the day. He sees Cristiano in the lab and his heart speeds up annoyingly in nervous anticipation and he has to force himself not to blush and turn away when Cristiano smiles at him from across the room. What a fucking child, he thinks, acting like a 14 year old even though he’s been here and done with numerous times before. Not that he’d ever acted differently. He was a mental mess for his and Sergio’s first date, he remembers fondly which meant he ended up being overly stoic but somehow he managed to get his guy in the end.

The day flies past as he thinks too much between writing up a report and meeting with the lab head. He doesn’t even noticed it’s the end of the day until Cristiano leans over his shoulder at his desk and says his name. Iker jerks up and turns to see a very close Cris who smells fresh and clean and is wearing a very nice white shirt under his lab coat. Iker suddenly feels grungy in comparison but it’s too late to remedy that now.

“Is it time already?” Iker looks down at the computer clock and notices it says half past five. “Sorry I get caught up.”

Cris smiles. “Don’t worry. I like it,” he says.

Iker runs a hand through his hair. That was too smooth for him to have an appropriate response. So he just saves his document and begins shutting down the computer. He glances over at Cris and finds him watching with a smile. Iker turns back to the screen and focuses on it, trying to ignore the feeling of eyes on him as the shutting down screen finally clears to black.

They exit the building making small talk about how each other’s day was. Cris is still settling in to the lab. He has to teach an extra help class starting next week and he’s a bit nervous but excited to relay information to students. He’s is smiling softly the entire time and seems to never stop looking at Iker, meeting his eyes every time Iker looks ever at him. The stare he gets is quite intense and he thinks that Cris is probably an intense person overall. Iker meets Cris’ eyes yet again and has to look away.

“I thought we’d have some dinner,” Cris says when they make it outside.

Iker nods. “All right.” 

“I hope you like Italian.”

“I’m all right with Italian,” Iker says. It comes out sounding a lot more like he hates Italian but Cris just laughs.

Iker follows Cris to the tube. It’s not far, just over five minutes’ walk but it’s a busy time as everyone, students and staff finish up for the day and head home. The sun is already setting so the temperature has dropped a bit. Iker wonder’s if Cris is warm in just a long-sleeved shirt, but he doesn’t look cold so he doesn’t ask.

The train is packed as usual so they end up pressed together in the middle of a space so that Iker can’t reach a pole to hold on to while Cris has to stretch to reach the pole above their heads.

“You can hold on to me,” Cris says.

The train jerks as it starts up pushing Iker into Cris. It would be more than Iker can take to attach himself to Cris for however long it takes until someone shifts so Iker can reach a pole of some sort. That was something girls did with their boyfriends or children did with their parents and Iker was neither a cute girl nor a child. Sergio would probably say “fuck that” and hold onto Iker anyway, but Iker wasn’t that bold.

Luckily, a person exits at the next stop Iker quickly slides into that space so that he can hold on. 

Cris laughs at him. Iker can only just hear it over the people talking next to them and the grinding of the train on the tracks. He leans in and says, “I was looking forward to you holding on to me.”

Iker shakes his head and Cris sticks out his tongue playfully. 

“This is the stop,” Cris says as the train slows down in the Angel station.

They navigate through the masses back out into the cool evening. Cris leads them from the station up the road.

“A friend introduced me to this restaurant when I came for my PhD interview and I really liked it,” Cris says.

Iker nods even though he’s not sure if Cris can see it but Cris continues anyway.

“It’s got a really awful name but the food is really good.”

They turn down a side street after walking a few minutes and then a restaurant comes into view at the end of the cul-de-sac.

It’s called Bella Italia, a cheesy name indeed. 

When they reach the restaurant, Iker finds out that Cris has made a reservation which surprises him because that takes a lot more effort than Iker was assuming would be put in but then he looks over Cris’ crisp white shirt and fashionable jeans and he thinks maybe he wasn’t taking this seriously enough. He rubs his beard self-consciously and looks over his own t-shirt and jeans.

“Sorry I didn’t dress up,” Iker says when they are shown their seats.

Cris grins. “You look great.”

Iker rolls his eyes automatically.

“What? It’s true. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you looked great, ok?” Cris says.

“I’m not sure I like bold-faced liars,” Iker says but he’s grinning instead of wearing a disapproving expression so Cris smiles as well.

Iker only has one glass of wine with dinner. He rejects the offer of a second glass from the waiter and Cris’ eyebrows go high.

“Only one?” Cris says in an obviously teasing voice.

Iker shakes his head but refuses to answer, mostly out of embarrassment, just drinks his water instead.

“Don’t worry,” Cris says, “I’m not interested in a repeat of Monday night either.”

Iker groans. “You had to bring it up, didn’t you?”

Cris grins widely.

After dinner, they both have an espresso. Iker expects them to go dutch when the bill comes but Cris insists paying even when Iker protests. It makes him feel a bit awkward to have a student pay for his meal but Cris seems upset when Iker pushes the subject and is definitely happier when Iker finally relents. 

They leave the restaurant for the cool night air. Iker is relaxed after their dinner. It’s the kind of relaxed where he wishes he smoked purely for the recreation. Or maybe vaping but that doesn’t look at good to him.

“I’m a model,” Cris says suddenly.

Iker’s not sure what he’s trying to say with that exactly.

“And I’m a pretty good one if I say so myself. So don’t worry about dinner, yeah?”

He should have picked up the meaning immediately but Iker finally realizes he’s talking about why Iker shouldn’t feel badly about letting him pay. He can definitely believe that this well-kept man is a model. Iker is sure his nails look manicured and his hair line is fantastic, not to mention that he’s fit as well. If he wasn’t already a model, Iker would suggest it.

“Iker?”

Iker turns toward Cris and meets his eyes then his mouth as it moves again.

“I was wondering, did you want to come back to my place?”

Iker’s gaze returns to Cris’ eyes and there’s a definite spark when he does. His breathing rate increases a bit. 

“All right,” Iker says. It’s all he can really manage as the desire to kiss Cris rises in him. 

Cris comes closer and pecks him on the lips. It’s definitely not the kiss Iker has in mind and from the look Cris is giving him, not the one he has in mind either but it’s a promise of what to come.

 

Sergio’s new model comes in on Monday. He’s supposed to have a very good body so Sergio is excited to do some underwear modelling with top quality eye candy. It’s a small brand trying to make its name for itself in London and the designs are pretty basic as they focus on using high quality materials instead, so Iker is happy about having something to look at. His name is Cristiano and he’s Portuguese, recently moved to London from Manchester where he was modelling as he went to university. Sergio’s got to admire the dedication of studying while staying that fit and modelling. 

He looks good enough in clothing, Sergio thinks when he comes through the door. He’s friendly and shakes Sergio’s hand firmly. His hand is warm even though he’s come out of the cold without gloves. Their eyes meet and Cristiano grins at him. It an open and pleasant grin and Sergio finds himself smiling back and feeling in a bit better mood than he started off with.

Without clothing he’s a star. Even Sergio’s assistant Alice does a double take when he comes out from behind the changing area wearing only dark blue boxer briefs. It’s Sergio’s turn to grin because he is going to have so much fun just being able to ogle this body for art. 

“I’m so happy we were able to get such a hot model for this campaign.” Sergio overhears the two brand representatives talking to each other. 

He concurs. A good body is essential for underwear modelling and, yeah some people prefer a more slender and softer body, but fit and lean makes Sergio look and Cristiano is definitely fit.

The shoot goes pretty easily. He takes direction well and Sergio gets some really good shots before the end of the day that please him artistically and should please the brand as well. They find out that Cristiano doesn’t just look good in boxer briefs but he looks good in classic briefs as well.

He shows some of the photographs to Cristiano who smiles at them and praises Sergio’s skill with the camera. 

“It’s only because I had a good model to work with,” Sergio says glancing over at the still half naked Cristiano. A good model with a good body and a good attitude. Sergio would definitely work with him again in a heartbeat.

Cristiano shakes his head adamantly. “You have a good eye.”

Their eyes meet and Sergio finds the gaze there intense as though those brown eyes are going to envelop him. He tries to hold it and manages for a minute but eventually has to look away. He finds that he’s breathing harder for it. Just slightly but enough that he notices. Sergio busies himself with the computer. He clicks a few pictures closed hurriedly and then risks turning back to Cristiano. Thankfully, he’s no longer looking at Sergio but at the screen. 

Everyone is out on time. Cristiano shakes Sergio’s hand as he leaves, smiling again, though this smile is somehow different. It’s almost flirtatious in the way that his mouth curves at the corners and his eyes narrow slightly. Sergio finds himself thinking about it even after the door closes behind him.

“Cristiano’s really gorgeous, isn’t he?” Alice says.

Her voices sounds like it’s filled with heart eyed emojis and she’s usually unmoved by the models that show up.

“Not like you to take an interest in the models,” Sergio says as he backs up the photographs to an external hard drive. 

“But he’s such a sweetie. Usually they’re all full of themselves for no reason, but he was really nice.”

Sergio laughs because it’s out of character for her. But he thinks he agrees. Maybe he is also a bit heart eye emoji after such a successful shoot and being able to take some good photos. 

 

Sergio spends that next day in the studio, editing the photographs from the underwear shoot. He could work from home but he finds he gets more work done in the studio, where he doesn’t have a bed to distract him. Alice is off that day so he has the studio to himself.

He spends a bit of time on each picture, staring a bit at Cristiano’s body, shameless now that he’s alone. Chiselled abs that look as though they came off an ancient Greek statue, strong thighs that would definitely wrap nicely around a waist, eyes that you could drown in and a cute personality, follows instructions well, Cristiano is a pretty good catch, Sergio thinks: both as a model and as a boyfriend too. And he is smart as well. From what Sergio could gather, he was going after a PhD and Sergio did have a weakness for the smart ones, if Iker was any indication. If only he were interested in dating a married photographer. Sergio laughs alone in the silence of the room. 

The doorbell rings around five as Sergio is getting ready to leave after his few hours work. He calls down the intercom and finds that it’s Cristiano, so he lets him up. 

Sergio can’t say he’s not happy to see him even in his fitted jeans and tight t-shirt after seeing pictures of his body all day but he’s not sure why Cristiano is here. “Did you forget something yesterday?” he says as he opens the door to let Cristiano in.

Cristiano shakes his head and unwraps his scarf. It’s a windy day making it colder than the actual temperature.

Sergio runs a hand through his hair as he waits for Cristiano to speak. Just earlier he was thinking about how Cristiano would probably make a good boyfriend and here he was in the flesh.

“You’re married?” are the words that come out of Cristiano’s mouth, a bit disbelievingly. 

Sergio looks at his hand surprised. He had forgotten his wedding ring yesterday. “Yeah,” he says, because he can’t think of much else to say.

There’s a look of disappointment and embarrassment on Cristiano’s face, which Sergio can only take to mean that he came to say something that is very much compromised by the situation of marriage. Sergio’s heart beats a little faster in realization.

“I should go,” Cristiano says, turning toward the door.

Sergio reaches out and stops him. “Wait, what did you come to say?”

Cristiano looks nervous now, like he wants to run away and Sergio is enjoying it in a slightly sadistic way. 

“I came here to ask you out,” Cristiano says seriously, “Well, I don’t do exclusive relationship so I didn’t know whether you would be ok with that but I thought I would ask anyway. I kept thinking about you.”

Sergio nods. He really wants to ask what Cristiano was thinking about him but all he says is “all right.”

Cristiano tilts his head in confusion.

“My marriage is open so that should be ok,” Sergio says.

Sergio’s not sure what he expects to happen after he says that but it’s not the relieved laugh that Cristiano lets out. 

“I think I need to sit down,” Cristiano says, shaking slightly.

Sergio leads him over to the sofa he has in the corner of the room and sits next to him.

“I’ve honestly never had someone come back after a shoot to ask me out,” Sergio says.

“Probably because you’re married,” Cristiano says.

Sergio laughs. “Probably.”

It’s easy enough to set up a date and a time to meet after that and Cristiano leaves grinning with a cheeky kiss to Sergio’s cheek. Sergio feels absolutely ridiculous for the way such a chaste kiss makes him smile but that’s what happens when cute boys confess to you. He chuckles to himself as he packs up his things to leave.

 

Sergio spends a few days sleeping on the sofa. Iker offers to switch but he doesn’t ask Sergio to come back to bed. That’s fine by Sergio. He doesn’t want to be that close to Iker at the moment. He’s still a bit thrown by Iker’s reaction to him asking about an open relationship. It was probably to be expected. Iker’s never been the exceptionally jealous type but he’s never indicated that he liked sharing in relationships either. It wasn’t that he wanted a divorce. That wasn’t why he was relegating himself to the sofa. It just felt like Iker had rejected an integral part of him that he was already so unsure about even though it was something that he had always felt somehow. He loved Iker and wanted to be with him but he wanted more somehow.

There’s no Taco Tuesday that week. Sergio eats out by himself. When he comes home, he finds taco material for two laid out in the kitchen and a distressed looking Iker in the hallway coming out of the bedroom.

“Where were you?” Iker says.

“I still want some space,” Sergio says.

“I was worried about you.”

“Then you should have texted me.”

There’s a bit of silence as Sergio starts to pack up the food that was left out. “Have you eaten?”

“Sergio.”

“I’ll put it all away if you don’t speak now, Iker.”

“Sergio.”

“I ate already.”

“Sergio.”

Sergio sighs audibly and stops covering the bowls of taco ingredients. “Yes.”

“I’ve been thinking.”

There’s a long pause so Sergio speaks encouraging Iker to continue. “What were you thinking about?”

“I’ve been thinking about what you asked and I think I can try.”

Sergio shakes his head and restarts his packing. “You don’t have to force yourself for me, Iker. It’s fine. I just need a little space for a bit.”

Iker shakes his head this time. “No. I just panicked that day. I just—I never expected you to ask something like that and it just felt like some kind of step before divorce and I don’t want that. Not that I wouldn’t accept if you suddenly became tired of me. I can be tiring, I know. But until then I wanted to be enough for you but if I’m not, I understand.”

“Iker, it’s not about ‘being enough’ or breaking up or anything like that,” Sergio says slowing his packing and then stopping entirely to face Iker. “I love you, Iker. I love you so much. I just have these feelings like I want to love so many other people as well. Like my soul is calling for it. I’ll never love you less because of it. I have more than enough love, I think, to love you and to love so many people.” He finishes speaking and his breath comes quicker and his heart speeds up. He’s never had to explain to anyone but himself before and he’s not sure he makes much sense; he’s not sure Iker even believes what he’s saying. Tears prick at the corner of his eyes. 

Iker moves slowly toward him and, when he doesn’t move away, envelopes him in a hug.

“I love you, Iker. I swear I love you.”

Iker kisses Sergio’s cheek, now tear streaked. “I believe you and I want to try for you.”

“You don’t have to,” Sergio says, wiping his tears on Iker’s shoulder.

“I know,” Iker says, hugging a little tighter, “I know but I want to make you happy and if this will make you happy, I want to try.”

Sergio takes in a deep breath. He can’t really sort out his feelings. There’s some combination of guilt at possibly forcing Iker’s hand as well as relief that Iker has decided to try for him. “If you’re sure,” he says offering Iker an out yet again, just in case he has suddenly decided that he’s talking rubbish.

“I’m sure,” Iker says softly into Sergio’s cheek.

“Thank you, Iker,” Sergio says hugging Iker back tightly. “Thank you.”

 

Sergio tells Iker about his date almost as soon as he comes through the door, about the fact that a model came back to ask him out on a date the day about the shoot. Sergio is excited but Iker looks far less impressed. Not outright upset, Sergio has to say, but generally neutral.

“What’s wrong?” Sergio says, moving over to the sofa where Iker sitting with the TV on.

“Nothing,” Iker says but Sergio gives him a disbelieving look so he continues with a sigh. “I’m still getting accustomed to this whole idea, which is hypocritical, I know, but it’s still there.”

Sergio smiles as his heart soars to hear Iker talk about working through his jealousy for him. It’s endearing the way he tries to act like nothing is wrong, but he definitely understands. He’s not immune to jealousy either. A part of him wonders whether Iker will realize that he’s nothing special and run away with this student, Chris, and leave him. But then he remembers that if that was going to happen, it could happen even without an open relationship and that calms him.

He moves over to the sofa and sits next to Iker and takes his hand, leaning against him to rest his head on his shoulder. “I love you, Iker. And I want you to know that won’t change even if every cute boy in the world wants to date me.”

“That’s a ridiculous example,” Iker says.

Sergio slaps his thigh lightly. “But you get it so what does it matter.”

Iker laughs. Sergio loves that sound. It’s deep and rich and just for him. And it just reminds him that he wants to be with Iker forever.

 

Sergio’s first date with Cristiano is just coffee. Simple enough. Sergio knows a nice family-owned café near his studio and Cristiano meets him there. Cristiano is dressed to impress in an ironed black shirt and designer jeans and sunglasses for the rare sunny day. His dark hair is spiked up flawlessly. Sergio notices a girl do a double take as she passes. Sergio is glad he put in a bit of effort himself even though it’s only a nice t-shirt and fitted jeans. He never dresses badly, if he says so himself, but he spent a bit more time gelling up his hair. (Ike laughed at him for that). 

They both take their coffee black and sit in the corner by the window. 

“Thanks for coming today,” Cristiano says, brown eyes sparkling and matching the smile on his lips.

Sergio is flattered by the fact that Cristiano wanted to go on a date with him in the first place and that he put forth such effort in his appearance all for him. “Thanks for asking me.”

The date is nice. Cristiano is happy to talk to Sergio about his youth playing football in the streets of Madeira then how he ended up in Manchester doing a chemistry degree and getting scouted for modelling. The enthusiasm is infectious and Sergio finds himself grinning as Cristiano is talking.

That is until Cristiano says that he studies chemistry at UCL.

“So does my husband actually. Well, he’s a researcher, not a student,” Sergio says.

Cristiano leans back in his chair, eyes wide and mouth open slightly. Sergio is about to ask if he’s all right when he says, “Is your husband Iker?”

It’s Sergio’s turn to look surprised. It shouldn’t surprise him that he knows Iker, since they work in the same lab, but he remembers that Iker is involved with one of the PhD students named Chris or Cris as he now realizes and he happens to be ridiculously attractive and boyishly adorable according to Iker and there’s no one that could be but Cristiano.

They both take some sips of coffee around their mutual realisation. 

Cristiano is the first to speak. “Well, this is probably awkward now.”

Sergio shrugs. “I mean, I don’t think I mind too much.” And he doesn’t. It is probably a bit strange for them to start basically dating the same person separately, but it’s still not much of a problem in Sergio’s book. It’s up to Cristiano and then Iker to make any decisions.

“I like both of you, so it’s no problem for me,” Cristiano says straightforwardly. 

Sergio nods and smiles at the candid answer. “But if you had to choose?”

Cristiano’s face becomes twisted as though he ate something sour. “I had being made to choose.”

Sergio laughs at the reaction. “Then maybe you won’t have to.”

“Did you want to tell him?” Cristiano asks.

He suddenly looks more worried with his eyebrows drawing together whereas Sergio is amused. He must really like Iker, Sergio thinks. He doesn’t know how exactly to feel about the fact that Iker is dating someone hotter than him but seeing Cristiano nervous is kind of adorable.

“Why don’t you come back with me? Iker should be home soon,” Sergio says.

“But isn’t today Taco Tuesday?”

Sergio is a bit surprised that Cristiano knows this but he grins and shrugs. “You can join us. I bet Iker will shit himself.” Sergio chuckles at the image of a flustered Iker in his mind.

“When you’re sure.”

And Sergio is definitely sure. Iker has talked about this student, Cris, quite highly and Sergio thinks he’s cute as well. Maybe somehow they can both keep dating him, perhaps even together. Sergio had thought that something like that would be nearly impossible, to find someone that they both liked enough, but here was a person sitting right in front of him. It was still Iker’s decision in the end but one could hope.

They make it home before Iker and Sergio enlists Cristiano’s help in getting everything ready. Cristiano is actually quite handy with a knife as he chops some onions for the ground beef. As they prepare, Sergio’s senses are heightened to every sound in anticipation of Iker arriving. Iker takes longer than usual. They are done with most of the food by the time the door finally opens. 

Sergio pushes Cristiano out of the kitchen and into the living room where Iker has just entered. The shock on Iker’s face is as good as Sergio knew it would be and he feels quite pleased with himself at his idea.

“Look what I found, Iker,” Sergio says when Iker refuses to speak.

“What do you mean found?” Iker says.

Sergio laughs. “We left the stove on. Let me go make sure nothing burns.” It’s probably a bit mean to leave Cristiano to tell Iker about their date but he’s sure that Iker needs some time to absorb what is going on and Sergio is too amused to do it himself.

 

Iker’s shock at coming home to find Cris in his house is only overshadowed by the fact that apparently Cris was Sergio’s date. He barely hears Cristiano’s explanation after that. His mind is reeling at the fact that Cris was Sergio’s model who came back to ask him out the day after the shoot. 

“Iker are you ok?” 

Iker snaps out of his mind and focuses on Cris again, nodding to answer his question.

“You know, I like you both and I would like to date you both, if that was ok with you,” Cris says.

Iker’s not sure how to answer. He supposes the answer is yes even though it feels strange to think that both he and Sergio will be dating the same person. It would be like indirectly sleeping together, as well as directly sleeping together. Very strange indeed.

“That’s fine,” Iker says.

Cris grins that grin that Iker likes because it is filled with pure joy. Then he kisses Iker, on the mouth in Iker’s house and Iker can’t help but kiss back, hand sliding around Cris’ waist.

A wolf whistle comes from the hallway causing them to pull away from each other, not quickly as Iker expects but surprisingly slowly, with Cris’ touch lingering on Iker. 

“Dinner’s ready,” Sergio says looking quite pleased with himself.

Iker sighs. Of course Sergio couldn’t resist pulling something like this after he found out that his model and Iker’s student were the same person. Iker can’t get over the strangeness of the situation and he feels a bit embarrassed at being so easily shocked (and a bit embarrassed by being caught in a kiss by his husband), but he’s sure he can get over all of that.

Iker kisses Sergio as he passes into the kitchen. It’s habit but he turns to look at Cris to see his reaction and catches him smiling fondly at the two of them, which makes Iker embarrassed again. He wants to be over with feeling embarrassed by kissing soon. But for now it’s all right because that embarrassment means he’s kissed someone he likes and he can deal with that for a little longer.


End file.
